Israel's flotilla raid 'a disaster'

Israel's bloody raid on the aid flotilla bound for Gaza last week which left nine people dead has been a "disaster", David Miliband said.

The shadow foreign secretary's criticism came hours after Israeli commandos boarded an Irish-owned aid ship, this time without the violence that marked the storming of the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara on Monday.

Mr Miliband said there had been a "series of deadly and self-defeating actions" by successive Israeli governments and demanded the blockade of Gaza be lifted.

Asked about the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, he said: "It has been a disaster for the people involved, obviously those many killed and injured and it has also been a disaster for Israel.

"I think there have been a series of deadly and self-defeating actions by successive Israeli governments in respect of Gaza.

"There cannot be a Palestinian state and therefore there cannot be peace for Israel and the rest of the Middle East with Gaza isolated, with people unable to get in basic commodities, unable to rebuild their lives.

"I am afraid the marginalisation of Gaza has been a stain on policy right across the Middle East for a very long time."

Mr Miliband added: "What is corroding any confidence at all among Palestinians and Israelis that they are going to be able to find a way to live together, is the absence of a serious political process to negotiate the terms of a Palestinian state."